There have been a number of attempts to redesign and copy Minecraft outside of Mojang. Some have been con artists. Some have been mod developers who wanted more. However there have also been those who have been inspired by Minecraft and have designed completely new games as a result, e.g. Terraria.

A new game is Patterns by Linden Lab, the developers of Second Life. Patterns works in terms of triangles, not cubes. Players can find resources and use them to built constructions. It has stronger physics than Minecraft. Therefore, gravity sucks and constructions will collapse if they are not appropriately supported. The first release is soon and reviewers suggest that they will follow the "Minecraft Model" in terms of payment (ie. cheap for alpha version, more expensive for the finished game).

Mark my words: We are entering an unknown era of human achievement, and maybe Patterns will not be the Holy Grail, but definitely five years from now we'll remember the blocks and triangles as forefathers to a new daily lifestyle we can't even dream of yet.

Except apparently some of us have dreamt of such a future... and what a beauty she is.

I humbly approve highly of this venture.

Now if Linden + Mojang = ??? could happen... whoa nelly.

I think even Chuck Norris would retire.

DaedalusAlpha

21st September 2012 05:29 AM

While it definitely is cool, I wonder if they can get the same wide breakthrough as minecraft has, just because this is more advanced/complicated. To build these things you have to have a higher understanding of geometrics and physics than you need in minecraft. And while this certainly talks to me as an engineer, I'd think most gamers are not engineers and might have a hard time understanding the basics of a game like this. In essence, the potential user group would be a lot smaller for a game like this than minecraft.

Deweyoxberg

21st September 2012 09:49 AM

Or potentially MORE because of said advanced mechanics.

Sorontar

21st September 2012 10:16 AM

I suspect that they will lose all the kids because too much thinking will be required. Also, it will be interesting whether they will add something like redstone/electricity to allow even more complex engineering.

It may end up being a failure (cf. Lego Universe) or a new type of open world construction game.

Sorontar

MadMax

21st September 2012 07:46 PM

Looking forward to trying it out for sure.

Cheith

30th September 2012 03:22 PM

Anything could happen, but let's face it the price is right!

HenriDeacon

30th September 2012 03:53 PM

Pre-ordered. :)

For $10 it's a bargain.

Here is some more info about pro-order for anyone interested ...

Thank you for being a part of the genesis release of Patterns, a new and exciting shared 3D creative space from Linden Lab.

The game client will be available by October 5th, 2012 at which time we will email you the link and instructions.

As a founding creator in Patterns, you have the opportunity to have your name featured in the game when version 1.0 is released next year. In the next month or so, you will be receiving a follow-up email with more details on the unique benefits of being an early supporter of Patterns.

In Patterns, with simple shapes you can create a universe. In future updates you will be able to share your creations with each other, then learn from and build upon each other’s creations to create new universes of our shared imaginations.

Patterns is still in very early development. As a founder supporter using our genesis release, we hope you’ll come up with some amazing creations. We have a very active development team and features like creating your avatar, liquids, multiplayer, enhanced procedural world generation and much more will be rolling out shortly. Hopefully, many of these features will be developed in collaboration and direction from our founders.